On October 10, 2018, Microsoft announced plans to join the Open Invention Network (OIN), a group of companies and developers who agree not to file patent lawsuits against each other over open source Linux projects. Microsoft’s membership in the OIN will allow the OIN’s more than 2,600 members to use technology protected by more than 60,000 Microsoft patents for open source Linux projects. Microsoft Deputy General Counsel Erich Andersen acknowledged past “friction” between Microsoft and the open source community and announced that Microsoft is “firmly committed to Linux and other open source programs.”